Vermont bike race to headphones for kids

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Explore Papua New Guinea, where you’ll find people who embrace the art of adornment.

Here

BIKE RACE THROUGH NORTHERN VERMONT MUD

Embrace mud season with a 47-mile bike race that cuts through some of northern Vermont’s most barren landscapes. The 1st annual Rasputitsa (“mud season” in Russian) Spring Classic takes place April 19, when up to 500 riders pedal through Newport, Coventry, Lowell, Westfield, Jay, and North Troy, gaining 2,877 feet of elevation en route. About 31 miles of the race rolls along gravel terrain; the biggest climb is just 1.55 miles long with 1,050 feet of elevation gain. Volunteers will hand out water bottles and Clif bars. Registration costs $40 per person, a portion of which goes to the Mary E. Wright Halo Foundation, a nonprofit organization that assists local cancer patients. www.dirty40race.com/rasputitsa.html

SOUTH YARMOUTH CELEBRATES ST. PATRICK

Get out your green garb and head to South Yarmouth for the annual Cape Cod St. Patrick’s Parade on March 8, starting at 11 a.m. at the intersection of Long Pond Drive and Route 28. The event features marching bands, colorful floats, antique cars, Irish step dancers, and clowns. Celebrity angler and TV host Charlie Moore, known as The Mad Fisherman, serves as the parade’s grand marshal. Meet him at the Grand Marshal’s Dinner at the Cape Cod Irish Village on March 7 ($30 per person). The parade queen and her court, all female high school seniors of Irish descent, will receive college scholarships from the Cape Cod St. Patrick’s Parade committee. 508-362-7239, www.capecodstpatsparade.com

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Explore Papua New Guinea, where you’ll find tree-dwelling kangaroos, 850 languages, and people who embrace the art of adornment on a new 11-day adventure with Steppes Travel. Participants can dive or snorkel in the Solomon Sea, paddle traditional outrigger canoes up tropical fiords, and climb an active volcano. Then search for 38 bird-of-paradise species and meet the “mudmen” of New Guinea, and the Huli “wigmen,” who paint their bodies with colored clay and decorate their hair with bird feathers, pigments, and flowers (pictured at left). Tours, which depart May 30 and June 13, start at $9,752 per person, double occupancy, not including flights. 855-352-7606, www.steppestravel.com

This luxury resort offers its Olympic Experience Package.

A LAKE PLACID LODGE KEEPS OLYMPIAN CELEBRATIONS

The Olympic flame may go out today, but you can keep the spirit of the Winter Games alive with a visit to Whiteface Lodge in Lake Placid, N.Y. This luxury resort offers its Olympic Experience Package through March 31. It includes two 50-minute sports massages and two Olympic Sites Passports that provide entry to the Lake Placid Olympic Museum and Ski Jumping Complex and other venues. Also try bobsledding (pictured below), tubing, speed skating (above), downhill skiing, and ice-climbing at nearby sites (extra cost). Package starts at $476 per night, double occupancy, for a suite with a balcony, fireplace, full kitchen, and daily breakfast; includes 10 percent off bobsledding. 518-523-0500, www.thewhitefacelodge.com

Everywhere

A SAFE WAY TO SORT THROUGH E-MAILS

Stay on top of all your e-mails while traveling, and remain safe as you review them, with a new hands-free, eyes-free mobile app called Talkler. This free smartphone app, created by Belmont-based Talkler Labs, can read your e-mails to you out loud and manage them as it responds to your simple commands: Say “Hey, Talkler” to wake up the app, and then “play my e-mails,” “skip to the next one,” “delete,” “slow down,” or “mark unread.” The clever app uses advanced text-to-speech technology to read the e-mails, and voice recognition to respond to your commands. It can even record and e-mail your voice reply. The app works with Apple devices, with an Android version coming soon. www.talkler.com

SanDisk Connect Wireless Flash Drive

SMALL DEVICE OFFERS BIG CAPACITY FEATURES

The new SanDisk Connect Wireless Flash Drive acts as a portable repository for movies and videos that can be streamed to up to three mobile devices at once (or up to eight devices for non-streaming files). Download the SanDisk Connect Wireless Flash Drive app to your smartphone, for instance, and connect your phone to the drive’s Wi-Fi network. Then start streaming (no Internet connection required). Also use the app to wirelessly transfer music, photos, and other files between the drive and your Apple or Android device, Kindle Fire, Mac, or PC with the click of a button. The drive plugs into your computer’s USB port for charging. $49.99 (16GB) to $99.99 (64GB) at Best Buy. 866-726-3475, www.sandisk.com

KIDS’ HEADPHONES KEEP SOUND AT SAFE LEVELS

Protect your little one’s ears with Kidz Gears’ new KidzControl Volume Limit Headphones, which come with a short cable that attaches to the headphone cord and your device, and keep audio levels between 80 and 90 decibels, considered the safe zone for kids, instead of 108 decibels. Even with the volume-limit cable attached, the headphones offer superior sound. Each pair of headphones also comes with cushy ear pads for extra comfort. The plastic but durable headphones come in pink, purple, green, blue, and orange. $19.99. www.gearforkidz.com